The pain was too much — Galatasaray boss blames Liverpool star, referee for Osimhen injury

Galatasaray came into the game carrying a 1-0 lead from the first leg, but the Turkish giants saw their advantage evaporate early, going on to lose 4-0 on the night.

Star striker Victor Osimhen was hampered by a brutal challenge from Ibrahima Konate in the opening minutes.

Although the Nigerian showed immense determination to play through the pain in his hand, his influence was clearly diminished, and he was forced off at the interval.

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk did not hold back when discussing the officiating that allowed the physical challenge to go unpunished.

“Osimhen is in pain,” Buruk told the club's website.

“Looking at Osimhen's position, we saw that Konaté was able to commit these fouls very easily. While we were expecting the best referee in the world, perhaps one of the worst referees officiated the game.”

The loss of their talisman at halftime proved fatal. Without Osimhen’s aerial threat and hold-up play, Galatasaray’s attack lost its identity.

Liverpool, sensing blood, turned a narrow 1-0 lead into a rout.Dominik Szoboszlai had opened the scoring before the break, but the floodgates opened in the second half.

Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch struck in quick succession before Mohamed Salah sealed the win with a historic 50th Champions League goal.

For Osimhen, it was a cruel end to a stellar European season that saw him rack up seven goals and three assists.